“What?” I force another laugh. “Don’t be silly. It’ll be way more fun with you here.”
She giggles. “In that case, okay. We’ll be there in a bit.”
I hang up and return to my stool. Jude is scrolling on his phone, and when I sit down, he glances at me. “Kara and her work friends are coming over to join us,” I say. “Is that okay?”
He frowns. “It’s not up to me whether your girlfriend and her work friends join us.”
I shrug. “I just know you don’t like big groups of people.”
“No worries.” He turns away. “I didn’t plan on staying much longer anyway.”
“Oh, come on, Jude.” I exhale tiredly. “That’s not true. You’re leaving because Kara and her co-workers are coming and we both know it.”
“So what if I am?” He laughs gruffly. “You’ll have plenty of people to talk to. You don’t need me. We just spent all day together and get to do it all over again tomorrow.”
I slump. “Yeah, but that’s work and this is our free time. I’m never going to get to know you if you won’t hang out with me.”
“I’m hanging out with you right now.” He looks confused. “It’s not my fault you invited other people.”
“I didn’t invite them because I wanted to,” I admit. “But what can I do? I don’t want to hurt Kara’s feelings.”
His gaze softens. “No, I know. You’re a nice guy and you did the right thing. I really wouldn’t have stayed long anyway. It’s good that you invited Kara and her pals.”
I study him. “But you won’t talk if they’re here, right?”
“Not about personal stuff.” He meets my gaze. “I don’t even know why I’m talking to you about that kind of thing.”
I smile because I like being the only one he tells personal stuff to. “You know why.”
His gaze flickers. “Do I?”
I nod. “It’s the bond.”
His face immediately tenses. “I wouldn’t call it abond.”
“What would you call it?” I laugh. “Because we both feel it. There’s no point in denying it.”
“It’s not a bond,” he grates out. “I’m sure it’s just that you remind me of someone from my past, that’s all.”
I shrug. “Then why do I feel it too?”
“I have no idea,” he mumbles. “But the word bond implies something… deeper.”
Seeing as I’m not comfortable with anything deeper either, I’m fine backing off. “When I use that word, I’m talking about a friendship kind of thing. That’s all.”
A muscle in his cheek clenches. “Okay. That’s fine I guess.”
I signal to Jim for another round and Jude starts to protest, but stops when I give him a stern look. “It’s just us right now,” I say. “Relax and drink with me.”
He swallows hard and then shrugs. “Fine. But when they all get here, I’m leaving. Don’t try to stop me.”
“I won’t.”
Once we have our beers, I say quietly, “That call with the kid Tyler bothered you, didn’t it?”
He glances over and meets my gaze. He looks a little buzzed from the beer. His eyes are a deeper blue and his lashes dark and thick. His lips are full and wet from drinking, and something unsettling stirs in my lower belly. Startled by the unfamiliar sensations, I pull my gaze from his mouth, trying to ignore the heat shifting through me.
Thankfully, Jude seems unaware of my problem. “Yeah,” he says. “Tyler seems like a nice kid. I’m sorry he has to go through that with his folks.”
